IIROSA is ‘perfect organization for humanitarian aid’ — Lungu

[gallery td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="7872,7871"] Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — To mobilize resources and encourage partnership in support of the poor and the needy in Zambia the International Islamic Relief Organization, Saudi Arabia (IIROSA) Secretary General Ehssan Saleh Taieb held a meeting with the First Lady of Zambia, Esther Lungu here. The meeting at the IIROSA headquarters here discussed cooperation in the areas of education, health, economic empowerment, leadership development, and other humanitarian assistance. A high-level Zambian delegation, which included Ibrahim Mumba, Zambian ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Patrick Nkanza, permanent secretary of ministry of education, Ms. Florence Chawelwa, senior private secretary, Ms. Kaku Mulalelo, chief planner at ministry of health, Ms. Nkumbu Zyambo, Economist Ministry of Finance, Ms. Mercy Muyenga, community development officer, Ms. Agnes Imasiku, communications officer and Evans Chitamaluka, 1st secretary at the Embassy of Zambia, Riyadh, attended the meeting along with several other IIROSA staff members. Taieb welcomed the First Lady of Zambia and thanked her for taking time out to visit IIROSA. “This collaboration will advance the shared goal of IIROSA and the humanitarian activities carried out by the Office of First Lady that is to engage and serve diverse communities in alleviating poverty across the country, prepare individuals and communities for increase resilience,” he said. The aim of the meeting was to explore the channels of corporation between IIROSA and the Zambian delegates by exchanging information about humanitarian activities and strengthening capacity building as well as making specific decisions in improving the humanitarian cooperation and humanitarian delivery to the communities in Zambia. During the meeting, Taieb briefed the delegation on the accomplishments and the structure of the organization and said, “All these humanitarian achievements was possible because of the support and guidance of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, and Dr. Abdullah Mohsin Turki, Secretary General of Muslim World League and the Chairman of IIROSA Board of Directors.” IIROSA’s assistances have great impact on the lives of millions of people especially in some of the African countries that have suffered from many tragedies due to natural disasters and sectarian conflicts that have left millions of orphans, widows, homeless people, disabled individuals and refugees. “This year alone, we dispatched a huge quantity of Ramadan free meal and sacrificial meat under “Adahi” campaign, providing relief to thousands, saving countless lives with food and building resilience against future emergencies,” Taieb said. He also requested the first lady to offer them a plot of land in order to further increase their humanitarian activities that can benefit a large number of people in need. Lungu said Zambia shares a deep commitment to humanitarian principles with IIROSA and, working together, the two will provide better, smarter assistance to millions of people in need. “The humanitarian assistance is recognition of the great work that IIROSA does, but also serves as a great vehicle to inspire others to do similar kinds of things. We are impressed by IIROSA doubling their effort towards poor, needy, orphan and widows residing in the difficult areas. Especially its assistance towards Yemeni and Syrian refugees are remarkable,” she said. She expressed her thanks to Taieb for arranging the meeting. Senior Private Secretary to the first lady, Ms. Florence Chawla, gave a presentation on the first lady’s charitable work for the empowerment of women and girls, water and sanitation, cancers, HIV/AIDS, maternal, child and neonatal health (child marriages, teenage pregnancies, GBV). In view of the fact that there are ten provinces in Zambia, the first lady in the last eight months has provided assistance in six provinces that are around 234 districts by far. “The collaboration with IIROSA, particularly on water and sanitation and vocational training projects will provide operational support and facilitation to us,” Lungu said, adding, “Since I believe in collaborating with like-minded organizations that share the same values and objectives and which aim to nurture the common good of society.” Mumba, the ambassador of Zambia in Saudi Arabia said, “I am delighted to be here today to support the valuable work of both the institutions. Hopefully they take their partnership to the next level and reach the maximum number of poor and the needy people.” Taieb honored Esther Lungu with a memento and distributed IIROSA’s publication to the Zambian delegates.